


(stay cool) it's just a kiss

by dancinghopper



Series: sick of losing soulmates (cheryl + toni) [3]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, it gets a bit suggestive towards the end, prompt fill: jealous!cheryl, semi-healthy communication??, so if thats not ur cup of tea maybe give this a miss!!, sounds angsty but i swear its not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 11:37:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14953953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancinghopper/pseuds/dancinghopper
Summary: prompt fill: toni tells cheryl about the jughead hookup and cheryl gets jealous





	(stay cool) it's just a kiss

**Author's Note:**

> exams are a blessing because it means i write as a form of procrastination. yay me!!!
> 
> i wrote, edited and posted this in one hit so hopefully it reads ok - i might edit it after exams, we'll see

“Hey Cheryl?”

Toni’s tracing circles on her legs, sending pleasant tingles up Cheryl’s spine. She pulls her eyes away from her phone to look at her girlfriend.

“Yes?”

Toni bites her lip. “I have to tell you something. And you might not like it.”

She puts her phone down in favour of sliding her hand over Toni’s. The other girl looks worried, which is never good. Cheryl braces herself to hear that her girlfriend’s about to go undercover in a drug ring, or is about to (god forbid) start _selling_ the wretched things. 

“Hey,” she says, and squeezes Toni’s hand. She might not like that Toni’s in a  gang, but well, Cheryl is too, now. The Serpents, despite partaking in some dodgy activities, are Toni’s family (and by the snake on her back, hers also). She doesn’t ever want Toni to think that she loves her less because of where she’s from. “It’s okay. What is it?”

Toni chews her lip some more. “Well. Okay. So, it was before we were going out, and I swear it meant _nothing_ , and it was just a… poorly timed, impulsive decision after he’d broken up with Betty, but I kissed Jughead.”

Static fills Cheryl’s brain at the unexpected input.

“Oh,” she says, blinking owlishly. Toni’s hand stops moving and instead squeezes her thigh gently.

“It doesn’t mean anything… it just seemed weird that you didn’t know.” She shrugs helplessly. “And I wanted you to. Not because, I mean, I guess I remembered it the other day, and then by _not_ telling you I felt like I’d be hiding something, even though I technically… wasn’t.”

Toni looks up at her with wide, imploring eyes, and coherent thought finally begin to return to Cheryl’s head. She strokes her thumb across the back of Toni’s hand.

“I – thank you, I guess? But it’s so fine.” She smiles at her. “It was forever ago. I’ve already forgotten.” 

Relief blossoms across Toni’s face. “Oh, thank god.”

She kisses Cheryl’s hand. “You wanna watch a movie?”

“Sure.”

* * *

Like she told Toni, Cheryl is fine with it. She really, really _is_. It’s not like she thought Toni had never kissed anyone before, so this is hardly any different. Just because it’s Jughead doesn’t change anything. Like, sure, it’s slightly different than it having been some random person Cheryl’s never met, but –

Cheryl cuts her train of thought off, staring resolutely at the shower wall. She’s not thinking about this, she tells herself. She _isn’t_. She’s _not_ going to get jealous over something that she has no right to be jealous over. Toni doesn’t like Jughead, Jughead doesn’t like Toni.

It’s _fine_.

* * *

Even though she is, absolutely, _definitely_ okay with it, Cheryl still feels something flare up inside her next time she sees Jughead. Her grip tightens on Toni’s wrist, a little possessively.

Toni squeezes her hand, leaning into her shoulder. “Hey,” she says, voice sweet like honey. “You okay?”

Cheryl still has moments where things get a little _too much_ , where she needs to get out and breathe and escape, but they’re getting easier the longer she’s around people who care about her. Guilt gnaws away at her stomach when she sees the concern in Toni’s eyes, part of her wishing she _was_ having a _too much_ moment and it wasn’t jealously rearing its ugly head.

She nods and smiles. “Never better.”

* * *

 

“Veronicaaaaaaa.”

Cheryl leans her head against Veronica’s shoulder, whine coming out full force. Her jealously doesn’t seem to be disappearing, so she’s been seeking advice from her array of friends. She’d thought that Veronica, having dealt with the whole _Betty & Archie_ thing, would have been more help than she is. Veronica just chuckles at.

“I literally _can’t_ help you,” she says, and leans her own head on top of Cheryl’s in a show of support. “You’ll have to talk to Toni about it.”

“Ugghhhhhhh.”

* * *

 

“I mean, it’s _Jughead_ , you know? _Jughead_. That dumb crown-beanie-wearing, _I’m weird, I’m a weirdo_ , stupid John-Bender-rip-off sack of potatoes. _Jughead_. **_Jones_** _._ I hate him. Him and his stupid _I suddenly care about the Southside, I’ve always wanted to be a Serpent what are you talking about blah blah blah_.”

Cheryl throws her head down on the table. “I _hate_ him. _So_ much.”

Kevin stares at her. “What are you even _talking_ about?”

She groans.

* * *

 

In a real low point, Cheryl goes to Betty. It backfires.

_“Toni and Jughead **kissed**?”_

Cheryl wants to die.

* * *

 

Next time she sees Toni, she’s pleased to note that she doesn’t look annoyed, or pissed, or frustrated, which is good. She’s sure her conversation with Betty will have made its way to her by now, but she’s hardly thrilled about owning up to it. Mostly, however, Toni just looks like she’s trying to hide a smirk.

“Hey,” she greets, and settles on Cheryl’s lap. _This_ , Cheryl thinks, _is a positive_.

“Hi,” mutters Cheryl, red still lingering on her cheeks after her talk with Betty and not meeting Toni’s eyes.  She links her arms around Toni’s waist on instinct. “How are you?”

Toni’s grin comes out full-force. “I’m good. How are _you?_ ”

Yeah, Toni knows.

“I’m sorry,” blurts Cheryl, giving up pretence. “Honestly, it’s _fine_ , I _know_ it is, I just got all worked up thinking about Jughead and you, and – it’s not you, I swear it isn’t, I know you’d never do anything while we’re together, I just didn’t like thinking about his stupid grubby mitts all over you, and I’m so, _so_ sorry, and now I’ve fucked up _their_ relationship, and –”

Toni kisses her.

“You’re cute when you’re flustered,” she says, still grinning. “Cheryl. It’s okay. You’re allowed to be jealous.”

She trails one fingernail down Cheryl’s neck. “I am?”

“Yeah. I mean, not a lot. No, like, freaking out when I talk to other people, or whatever. But it’s okay that me kissing Jughead made you feel weird. I mean, he’s one of our closest friends.”

Normally Cheryl would tease her for counting Jughead in their friend-group, since Toni knows how much he annoys her, but she can’t find the energy. “I’m sorry,” she says again, instead. “I didn’t want you to find out.”

“I know.” Toni bites her lip and gets that look in her eye that means she wants to kiss Cheryl.

“If it helps,” she says slyly, stroking Cheryl’s pulse point. “Jughead and I really only made out. We never had sex on school property." 

Cheryl’s brow furrows. “Neither have we.”

Toni shrugs. “We could.”

“That’s disgusting.”

“So you don’t wanna?”

Cheryl flushes, eyes furtively darting around the common room. Someone’s going to hear this, and her reputation is going to be even more ruined than it already is.

“I –” she leans into Toni’s touch, just a little. “You wanna just skip fifth period and go home instead?”

Toni pulls a face like she’s thinking about it. “As long as you wear the jacket.”

Cheryl smirks. “You really have a thing for red leather, huh?”

“On you? Sure.”

Cheryl grins and pushes her off her lap in favour of linking their hands together. “Let’s go.”

* * *

 

“I love you,” mumbles Toni later, mouth on Cheryl’s neck and hands in her hair. She places several sloppy kisses along Cheryl’s neckline. “And I guarantee I never felt like this with Jughead.” 

Cheryl arches her back, nails scraping against Toni’s shoulders. “No Jughead talk in the bedroom,” she grits out, and feels Toni smile against her skin.

“Yes ma’am.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!! i'm taking prompts at the moment so u can leave them here or on my tumblr (@lesbian-cheryl) and i'll give them a shot <333


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